And We Get By
by LittleMissBones
Summary: “I thought three years was long enough to get over somebody. I thought I would be done with her, Lenie.” Mild spoilers for La Fleur. Skate angst, implied Suliet, Dan/OC friendship, Sawyer/OC friendship.


**SUMMARY**: "I thought three years was long enough to get over somebody. I thought I would be done with her, Lenie." Spoilers for La Fleur. Skate angst, implied Suliet, Dan/OC friendship, Sawyer/OC friendship.

**A/N**: Hi, peeps, it's me again! I'm not that big of a Skater, but I saw the promo for next week's episode and this was BEGGING to be written. To clear up confusion, Elena is my OC, and Samantha and Caroline are her OC children. Flashbacks are italicized. Enjoy!

_The group had finally gotten back together and discovered the tragedy that had occurred while they were at the Orchid. After giving Dan their sympathies and sitting in silence for a few minutes, they unanimously decided to bury Charlotte before the next flash. It was a quiet funeral; Dan gave the only eulogy, and along with Jin, Miles, and Sawyer, dug a hole, gently laid Charlotte in it, and covered her up, never to be seen again. Juliet, Samantha, and Caroline had found a gravestone-sized flat rock to use as a grave marker. Elena had thoughtfully inscribed on the rock (with a burnt piece of wood):_

If tears could build a staircase,

And memories a lane,

I'd climb it up to Heaven,

And bring you home again.

In Loving Memory

Charlotte Lewis

1979-2004

_After paying their last respects, they decided to get a move on before they were discovered. After walking for several hours, they came upon the barracks, which were occupied by people in jumpsuits. They formulated a plan rather quickly: their ship had sunk and now they were marooned on this island. They would each keep their first names, but change their surnames to keep away suspicions. Sawyer and Juliet would pose as a married couple to keep things quiet, as would Elena and Dan. They were quickly and without harm accepted into the DHARMA initiative: Sawyer Turner and Jin Paik worked for security, Juliet Harrison-Turner was a mechanic, Daniel O'Brian a miner, Elena O'Brian a teacher, and Miles Zhang worked in finance. For the next three years, everything went smoothly; Samantha and Caroline grew from eight and five year olds, respectively, into pre-teens, Sawyer and Juliet joyously welcomed a daughter they named Rebecca Charlotte, and life went on, pausing briefly when the anniversary of Charlotte's death (or in Elena's case, her husband Travis') rolled around. _

_Until _**they** _returned._

Sawyer angrily burst into the house which was not his. His joy and confusion over finding Kate on the island was nothing for him to show to his "wife", who was probably still at the mechanic's shop anyways. He knew there were only two people who he could talk to about, and since the first one was God-knows-where, there was only Elena left who could remotely understand what he was feeling. Much to his surprise, she had been there, almost as if expecting him. Stammering, he explained the situation, and Elena motioned for him to sit while she prepared some tea. The tea prepared and poured into mugs, she sat with a sigh next to him.

"How do you feel about it?" she asked.

"I don't know, Elena," he responded with a sigh. "It's like she never left. One minute on the same island, and I have those same feelings I thought were for Juliet now. How the hell could this happen to me, to me of all people."

"Sawyer, it could have happened to any one of us. Imagine Jin's reaction if it had been Sun."

"He would have defied custom and kissed her right in front of everybody," he replied sarcastically. Elena laughed. "Look, Sawyer, maybe you never really got over her. Maybe, deep inside, you still loved Kate, but your brain convinced you that you were in love with Juliet."

"But I can't just leave her and Rebecca!" Sawyer snapped back. Noticing Elena's crestfallen face, he added "Sorry. Just… I thought three years was long enough to get over somebody. I thought I be done with her, Lenie."

Elena sighed. "It takes time Sawyer. And that time's different for everyone. Take me and Dan, for example." Sawyer looks at her quizzically. "We live together and play the happily married couple, but we're really just two people with broken hearts raising kids," Elena continued. "I haven't got over Travis. And Dan definitely hasn't gotten over Charlotte. I doubt he ever will."

"I guess I should be happy to see her." Sawyer paused, considering his next words. "I don't know how to deal with the whole thing."

"Just be happy you can see her," Elena said. "Consider all of the good times you can have together as friends. Consider the fact that you can talk to her, touch her, hear her laugh – Dan and I can't have that. My daughters can't tell their dad they love him and can't hear him say it back to them; Dan will never be able to kiss the woman he truly loves, ever, and I can't hold my husband's hand and complain about this island or hear him tell me that everything's going to be okay, we'll get by. Be thankful you can do all of the things I can't. You'll get by, Sawyer. You're a good man."

"Thanks," he smiled. Standing up and headed towards the door, he said "I should go. They'll probably wonder where I've been."

Elena nodded. "Say hello to Juliet for me."

"I will. And Elena –" he stopped before opening the door, "thanks."

"No problem," Elena smiled in return. "I'm really glad we talked."

"Me too. Take care of yourselves."

"I will." Shutting the door, she turned and saw Dan standing near the back door. "Hey."

"Hi," he responded. He approaches her, and the look on his face tells her he's heard some portion of her conversation with Sawyer. As he cups her face with his hands, Elena becomes afraid that he's actually going to kiss her. It turns into shock when he smiles, kisses her forehead (_Thank God, _she thinks), and pulls her into a tight hug. As Elena hugs him back, they realize that they do love each other. It's a different kind of love from the ones they had for their significant others, more like two old friends who are living together, that kind of love, but it's still love. And that's enough for them both.

"We're going to be okay," Dan whispers into her hair. She nods into his shoulder and replies "We really are."

And, for the first time, they both know they're right.

**A/N 2**: Well, that's the end of it. And now we wait for LaFleur to air…

Reviews make the author happy…


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